Last year I had an idea to do some posts featuring R'n'B songs from the 1990s and 2000s. It was inspired by the Timbaland-Link-up Part 1 post which I wrote last summer.
So I thought I'd share some music from the late 90s and early 00s. I was a teenager during that time and it feels nostalgic to me! I'm featuring a few songs today and plan to do more another time. :)
Dru Hill- How Deep Is Your Love
American R'n'B group Dru Hill was founded in 1992 and they are still active today. Some of their hits include In My Bed, How Deep Is Your Love.
How Deep Is Your Love is my favourite song of theirs. It was the first single from their second album Enter the Dru and was released in September 1998. One of their most popular hits, it was also on the soundtrack to the 1998 film Rush Hour. There is also a single version with Redman.
I featured the video as a Weekly Music Video back in 2012 (!): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2012/11/weekly-music-video_28.html
Another Level- I Want You For Myself
Another Level were a British 5 member group, consisting of Dane Bowers, Wayne Williams, Bobak Kianoush and Mark Baron. They were formed for the then new record label Northwestside, a sub-label of BMG and their music was R'n'B/hip hop.
The group was together for around 3 years (active from 1997 to 2000). They had 7 Top 10 singles, including Freak like Me, I Want You For Myself and From the Heart. I always thought of them as a sort of precursor to the boy band Blue!
Freak Me is probably their most well known single. It was actually a cover of the 1993 single by American group Silk. (I didn't know that until I started writing this post!). While I like that , I actually like I Want You for Myself a bit more, so I'm sharing the video for that. I may feature Freak Me in a future samples and covers post!
After they disbanded in 2000, the group went their separate ways. Dane is probably the most well known member, who is still in the public eye. There were rumours that the band would reform for The Big Reunion in 2013, but in the end only Dane took part.
Here is an update on the members from 2021: https://heatworld.com/entertainment/music/another-level-group-now/
I Want You for Myself was released in 1998. I can't find the actual month when it came out.
Find more videos from Another Level on their YouTube/VEVO: https://www.youtube.com/@AnotherLevelVEVO
3LW
Girl group 3LW made their debut in 2000 with the single No More (Baby I'ma Do Right). The group consisted of members Kiely Williams, Adrienne Bailon (now Adrienne Bailon-Houghton) and Naturi Naughton, and was formed in 1999 by Kiely's mum Michelle and aunt Tse Williams. The name of the group stood for "3 Little Women".
No More (Baby I'ma Do Right) came out in August 2000 and was later released in other countries in early 2001. It did well in the charts, as did the follow up Playas Gon' Play, released in April 2001. 3LW brought out their debut self-titled album in December 2001 and it went platinum in America.
The group went through a difficult period in 2002, when tracks they had recorded for their second album were leaked. They ended up recording new ones and brought out their third single I Do (Wanna Get Close to you) in June 2002. It was the first single from their second album A Girl Can Mack, which was released in October 2002.
However, 3LW had further problems with Naturi leaving the group in summer 2002, amid claims she'd fallen out with Kiely, Adrienne and their management. Naturi said she was forced out after Kiely threw food at her during an argument!
Kiely and Adrienne continued as a duo, releasing the single Neva Get Enuf featuring rapper Lil Wayne in October 2002. That December they brought out the Christmas album Naughty or Nice. Another girl, Jessica Benson later joined them in March 2003 and appeared on their single Feelin' You featuring rapper and record producer Jermaine Dupri, released in 2006.
Adrienne and Kiely also starred in the 2003 Disney channel film The Cheetah Girls, about a fictional girl group of the same name. The other members were Raven-Symoné (best known for TV shows such as The Cosby Show, Hangin' with Mr Cooper and That's So Raven, as well as several films including Doctor Doolittle and College Road Trip) and Sabrina Bryan.
Due to the success of the movie, The Cheetah Girls were launched as a real group. (There were also two sequels, The Cheetah Girls 2 and The Cheetah Girls: One World.) Kiely and Adrienne chose to concentrate on that instead and 3LW disbanded in 2007, without releasing their 4th album Point of No Return.
After The Cheetah Girls, Kiely continued acting (appearing in films such as Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale and Stomp the Yard's sequel Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming) and pursued a solo music career. Most recently she starred in the reality music show BET Presents: The Encore.
Adrienne acted in other TV series (including That's So Raven with fellow Cheetah Girl Raven-Symoné) and went on to co-host the American TV talk show The Real and celebrity news show E! News. She also released a solo alum New Tradiciones, (an English and Spanish Christmas album) in 2017. More recently, she appeared in Raven's Home, the spin-off of That's So Raven.
Naturi became an actress and her TV shows include The Client List, Power and Queens (which co-stars fellow singer Brandy). Jessica reportedly became an estate agent.
I'm sharing several of the girls' songs below.
No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)
No More was 3LW's debut single and one of their most successful. As noted above, it was released in summer 2000 in the US and early 2001 in other countries, including the UK. It reached the Top 10 in the UK charts.
The girls look so young here! They were aged 14 to 16.
Playas Gon' Play
Playas Gon ' Play was the group's 2nd single and was released in April 2001. As with No More, it was from their debut album 3LW.
Neva Get Enuf feat. Lil' Wayne
By late 2002, 3LW had become a duo. They released Neva Get Enuf, from their 2nd album A Girl Can Mack (which had been recorded prior to Naturi's depature) in 2002. American rapper Lil' Wayne features on the track.
I don't think this single did too well but it's a good R'n'B song. :)
Feelin' You feat, Jermaine Dupri
Feelin' You was 3LW's final single before they disbanded and the only one which Jessica appeared on. It came out in August 2006. It featured American record producer and rapper Jermaine Dupri, whose record label So So Def the group was now signed to.
I don't think I heard this song at the time or saw the music video. I've only seen the video more recently on music channels and YouTube. It has a more mature sound to their previous releases. By now Adrienne and Kiely were 22 and 20. I think Jessica was 18 or 19.
Find more 3LW videos on their VEVO: https://www.youtube.com/@3LWVEVO
Hope you enjoyed the post! :) I plan to feature more "throwback" R'n'B in the future.
For more 90s and 00s R'n'B, check out these posts:
Samples and Covers: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/08/samples-and-covers.html
More Samples and Covers: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/06/more-samples-and-covers.html
Brandy Through the Years- Part 1: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/09/brandy-through-years.html
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